Even When We're Apart
by CaitlinLovesYou
Summary: “Well, hi!” he said, but his words were laced with sarcasm. It bore a hole into Sharpay’s heart, and her free hand unconsciously grasped her locket that hung freely around her neck. A Rypay oneshot.


**Author's Note: I was just browsing through the lovely Rypay-ish stories here on fanfiction, and I came across Pwnguin's fic (which is awesome, by the way) with the same title as mine, and the beginning of my story has eerie similarities to hers. Hmm. I just wanted to let people know that I didn't try and copy Pwnguin's fic in any way. Heh. Yeah, I just don't want people thinking that I stole from other authors or anything. Lol. Thanks!**

**Summary:** Sharpay's feeling lonely because her brother seems to have forgotten about her. She misses him, and decides to give him a phone call, but she doesn't get the reaction that she hoped for. A depressing Rypay-ish oneshot. No twincest.

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Sharpay and Ryan, wink wink. But obviously I don't. And I also don't own High School Musical. Bah. So I'll have to settle with writing things about them.

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Sharpay's fingers hovered over the green 'call' button on her pink Sidekick cell phone. She desperately wanted to call her brother, Ryan, of course she did. She was sort of scared, in a way. Her brother was busy with a show in New York, and she was stuck waiting back in Albuquerque. Lately, Ryan had been _too_ busy—he seldom called Sharpay to say hi, to talk in _general, _or even to check up on his little sister. Sharpay was scared because she thought that Ryan wouldn't want to talk to her if she called, but it was bothering her too much, and she had to do it. 

Holding her breath and squeezing her eyes shut, Sharpay presses the button and crossed her fingers, hoping that Ryan would pick up. After about four rings, Ryan's tired voice was heard on the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi Ryan!" she breathed. She couldn't hide the excitement in her voice if she tried, and Sharpay clutched her phone tighter, as if afraid that Ryan's voice would disappear if she let go.

Ryan audibly sighed. "What is it now, Sharpay?"

The tone of his voice made Sharpay's eager smile falter. She swallowed.

"I just wanted to talk to you, you know, to say hi to you?" It was more like a question than a statement than a question. Sharpay sat down on her pink satin comforter softly, dejectedly at her twin's lack of enthusiasm. She wanted nothing more than to talk to him again, like old times when they sit up at night, spilling all of their secrets and sharing their daily occurrences to one another.

"Well, hi!" he said, but his words were laced with sarcasm. It bore a hole into Sharpay's heart; her free hand unconsciously grasped her locket that hung freely around her neck. It was the one Ryan gave her for their sixteenth birthday, the one with the S engraved on it. She never took it off.

Awkward silence filled the air with a tension that forbade Sharpay to speak for a moment. That hurt. Those words threw daggers at her heart.

"Look, Sharpay, I've got to get going." Those words were the ones she was dreading. "I have this dinner party that I really need to get ready for."

She didn't know why, but tears came to Sharpay's eyes. She normally didn't cry when she was talking to Ryan. This particular conversation was difficult, though. She missed being able to talk to him in person. She even missed his hugs—his warm, welcoming embraces, full of love…

"Sharpay? Are you still there?"

He sounded impatient. His voice snapped her back to reality.

"Y-yeah," she said, clearing her throat. "Yeah, I'm still here."

There was a short pause as neither twin spoke. To Sharpay, this seemed to drag on for hours.

"I miss you," Sharpay tried, hesitantly. Her voice cracked slightly.

Ryan let out a breath. "I'd really love to talk some more, but I'm sort of running late. I'll try to call you back later, okay?"

"Okay," she said, though they both knew that he wouldn't get to call her back. He never did anymore. Silent tears made their way down Sharpay's cheeks, and she swiped at them.

"Alright, bye, Sharpay."

"Bye, Ryan," she whispered. "I love you."

But there was no answer. He was already gone.

Sharpay hung up sadly. She longed to have Ryan next to her, holding her while she cried, but that wasn't possible. Grabbing a random picture frame off her nightstand, she curled up in her bed.

The picture was taken almost twenty years ago, believe it or not. Ryan and Sharpay were only four years old, and they were at the state fair. They were grinning brightly at the camera, and Sharpay held a stick of fluffy, pink cotton candy in one hand, Ryan's hand in the other. Those were the happy times.

But there was none of that now.

Closing her eyes, Sharpay tried to sleep, but nothing could make her forget Ryan's attitude towards her on the phone earlier. She added in a silent prayer that her dreams wouldn't be full of her brother and how he used to be. She didn't want more pain that she already had. No, she couldn't bear to take that.

All of a sudden, her phone started to ring, playing a catchy tune, startling Sharpay. She sat up in alarm, but relaxed when she realized the source of the noise.

She groaned when she also realized the lyrics that went along with the tune blaring from her Sidekick.

_"…So lonely before I finally found…what I've been looking for…" _

Not bothering to check to see who that was, she mentally cursed whoever it was, disturbing her at a time like this. The chorus of that song echoed in her head. Sharpay angrily flopped back on her bed.

This was going to be a long night.

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**The End. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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